According to RIA Novosti, Lukashenko and Putin held telephone conversations, in which the President of Belarus informed his Russian counterpart of the results of negotiations with the leadership of the Wagner Group.
She added that Putin then thanked the President of Belarus for his work to calm the situation.
After about 24 hours of “armed rebellion” in several Russian regions, the head of the Russian private military Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that he had ordered his fighters, who were advancing towards Moscow, to return to their bases to avoid bloodshed.
Reuters quoted the commander of Wagner as saying that the group’s fighters had advanced 200 km towards Moscow during the past 24 hours.
Prigozhin said in an audio recording broadcast by his office: “Now is the time when blood can be shed. Therefore (…) our convoys are returning to the field camps according to plan.”
The Belarusian presidency had announced the approval of Wagner’s commander on “an agreement that guarantees the safety of Wagner’s fighters, which is up for discussion.”
It said its boss Lukashenko had spoken to Wagner’s boss and that he was acting in agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
#Wagners #retreat.. #Putin #President #Belarus #mediation